Erskine College

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Coordinates: 34°19′49.72″N 82°23′25.63″W / 34.3304778°N 82.3904528°W / 34.3304778; -82.3904528
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For the Wellington, New Zealand college, see Erskine College, Wellington.
Erskine College
File:Erskine logo.png
MottoScienta cum Moribus Conjuncta
Motto in English
Knowledge joined with Morals
TypePrivate
Established1839
EndowmentUS$40.52 million
PresidentDr. Robert E. Gustafson, Jr.
Academic staff
40 full time
Students575
Address
Erskine College
Two Washington Street
P.O. Box 338
,
Due West
,
SC 29639
,
USA
CampusRural
ColorsMaroon and Gold    
NicknameFlying Fleet
AffiliationsAssociate Reformed Presbyterian Church
Websiteerskine.edu

Erskine College is a private Christian college in Due West, South Carolina. It offers an undergraduate liberal arts college and a graduate theological seminary. The college was founded in 1839 by the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, and its sports teams compete in NCAA Division II as a member of Conference Carolinas.

Early history

Established in 1839 by the Associate Reformed Synod of the South as an academy for men, the college became the first four-year, church-related college in South Carolina[citation needed] It was named for Ebenezer Erskine, one of the founders of one of the antecedent bodies of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and a pastor. Erskine had led a group of separatists from the Church of Scotland to found an Associate Presbytery. Erskine began to admit women in 1894 and officially became coeducational in 1899. In 1927, it merged with Women's College of Due West, founded in 1859. In 1929, Bryson College closed and merged with Erskine College.[1][2]

Recent history

In 1999, Rev. John Carson became president of the college. Upon his installation he noted: "I do not intend to add anything new, not one new straw on the backs of faculty or staff or students. But I do intend to be consistent in making this vision a reality. Erskine College will be, by God's grace, what it has been called to be—a Christian liberal arts college open to all students."[citation needed] Dr. Randall T. Ruble was voted in as the President of Erskine College and Seminary on October 26, 2006. He was inaugurated April 10, 2007.

In April 2011, David A. Norman was inaugurated into the office of President. On June 1, 2013, Dr. Norman resigned, and Dr. N. Bradley Christie was appointed Acting President. On July 18, 2014, it was announced that Erskine College and Seminary called Dr. Paul Kooistra, an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America, as their president.[3]

On March 11, 2014, a website article on Outsports detailed the coming out of two male players on the college's volleyball team.[4] On February 27, 2015, Erskine College released statement that students are expected to "follow the teachings of scripture concerning matters of human sexuality."[5][6][7][8]

After serving as President of Erskine College and Seminary for a period of 3 years, Dr. Paul Kooistra announced his planned retirement, to be effective at the end of October 2016.[9] An interim President, Dr. Robert E. Gustafson, Jr. was named on October 21st, 2016 [10]. Four months later, on February 10, 2017, Dr. John Basie was named as Provost of Erskine College. Dr. Basie was quoted as saying, "My family and I are humbled by this calling to come serve the Erskine community and the ARP Church. We look forward to working alongside others in implementing the college’s Christ-centered mission."[11]

On May 26th, 2017, The Board of Trustees of Erskine College and Theological Seminary appointed Dr. Robert E. Gustafson, Jr as the 17th President of Erskine College and Seminary following his seven months of service as interim president.[12] Known as a visionary leader with a history of effectiveness in Christian education, Dr. Gustafson was hailed in official press releases as "a dedicated Christian with a pastor’s heart, a deep thinker, and a lifelong learner, ready to address the challenges of Erskine College and Theological Seminary.”[13]

Academics

Erskine College offers Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science. Minors are offered in several other fields of study. A Christian Education concentration is offered within the Bible and Religion major and special minors are offered in Family Studies, Computer Science, Non-Western Studies, Theater, and Information Technology. The college also offers pre-professional programs in medicine, law, pharmacy, and dentistry. The student to faculty ratio is 12:1.[14]

Although Erskine is regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, it was placed on "Warning" status following its most recent decennial accreditation review in December 2013.[15] The College's status was reviewed in December 2014, and the sanction was then escalated to "Probation" status, due to continued failure to comply with accreditation standards related to fiscal stability and institutional effectiveness in student learning outcomes.[16] SACSCOC removed all accreditation sanctions and reaffirmed Erskine’s regional accreditation in December 2015.

Athletics

File:FlyingFleet.png
Official athletics logo.

Erksine College teams participate as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division II. The Flying Feet are a member of the Conference Carolinas. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis and volleyball; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball.

Major buildings

  • Administrative offices: Belk Hall, Watkins Student Center
  • Art buildings: Bowie Arts Center, Memorial Hall (music), Print Shop
  • Classrooms: Belk Hall, Reid Hall, Daniel Moultrie Science Center (DMSC)
  • Recreation: Galloway Center, the Hangar (under Lesesne Auditorium), pavilion, swimming pool, volleyball court
  • Male housing: Grier (freshmen), Pressly, Robinson
  • Female housing: Carnegie (freshmen), Bonner, Kennedy
  • Dining services: Java City, Moffatt Dining Hall and Snappers
  • Erskine Towers: Flagship Building, old astral observatory and clock tower
  • Computer Lab and library: McCain Library, Reid Hall (archives)

Notable alumni

Will

Members of the class of 2007.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Bryson College Memorial". Retrieved 2010-06-01.
  2. ^ "Erskine College: Hard To Find, Harder To Leave". Retrieved 2010-07-18.
  3. ^ "Erskine Board Calls Paul Kooistra as President". The Aquila Report. July 18, 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  4. ^ Zeigler, Cyd (2014-03-11). "Rural South Carolina Div. II volleyball team has two out gay players". outsports.com. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
  5. ^ Samantha Laine (27 Feb 2015). "South Carolina college comes out against homosexuality". Christian Science Monitor.
  6. ^ "South Carolina college denounces homosexuality after two volleyball players come out as gay". msn.com/Washington Post.
  7. ^ Patrick Foster (27 Feb 2015). "South Carolina college's statement ignites homosexuality furor". USA Today.
  8. ^ Sasha Geffen (27 Feb 2015). "This College In South Carolina Is Trying To Ban Students From Being Gay". mtv.com.
  9. ^ http://news.erskine.edu/erskine-trustees-plan-for-future-leadership-transition/
  10. ^ http://news.erskine.edu/interim-president-selected-by-erskine-board-of-trustees/
  11. ^ http://news.erskine.edu/gustafson-names-john-basie-provost/
  12. ^ http://news.erskine.edu/gustafson-named-17th-erskine-president/
  13. ^ http://news.erskine.edu/gustafson-named-17th-erskine-president/
  14. ^ "Academic Excellence". Erskine College. Erskine College. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  15. ^ Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (December 19, 2013). "Disclosure Statement Regarding the Status of ERSKINE COLLEGE" (PDF). Retrieved July 17, 2014.
  16. ^ Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (December 7, 2014). "Actions taken by the SACSCOC Board of Trustees December 7, 2014" (PDF). Retrieved March 1, 2014. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 47 (help)
  17. ^ WSPA Staff. "Greenville Attorney Ervin To Face Gov. Haley In Republican Primary". WSPA.com. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  18. ^ "Joseph Rodney Moss : Memory Hold The Door | University of South Carolina School of Law". law.sc.edu. 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.

External links

34°19′49.72″N 82°23′25.63″W / 34.3304778°N 82.3904528°W / 34.3304778; -82.3904528

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